Episode 4 echoes of dark

Lucien stood at the edge of the rooftop, the city stretching below him like a sea of restless souls. The whisper from earlier still echoed in his mind.

“Find her. Before it’s too late.”

The words gnawed at him, threading through the fractures in his memory. Who had spoken them? A lingering soul? A force beyond his understanding? He wasn’t sure, but the warning left a weight on his chest that refused to lift.

His fingers brushed against The Veil Between Worlds, the book Celeste had given him. He had avoided opening it all night. But as the city lights flickered like dying stars, something in him shifted.

He flipped the book open.

The first line sent a shiver down his spine.

“Some loves are meant to transcend lifetimes, no matter the cost.”

Lucien’s grip tightened. Coincidence? Or something more?

He read on, his eyes scanning the pages. The story spoke of two lovers separated by fate, forced to find each other again and again—only for tragedy to strike each time. A love destined, yet cursed.

A cold dread slithered through him.

He closed the book, jaw clenched. This wasn’t just a story. It felt like a message. A reflection of something buried deep within him.

And Celeste—

She was at the center of it.

⸻

Moren’s Books – Midnight

Celeste locked the bookstore door, stepping onto the quiet street. The air was crisp, carrying the scent of rain. She pulled her coat tighter around her, glancing up at the sky.

A strange heaviness had settled over her since meeting him. The man in black with eyes like storm clouds.

Lucien.

His name felt foreign yet familiar, as if she had whispered it in another life. And the way he had looked at her—like he knew her—had left a chill in her bones.

As she turned to leave, a shadow shifted in the alleyway beside the shop.

Celeste froze.

A figure emerged—tall, cloaked in darkness, its face hidden beneath the hood of a tattered robe. The air around it crackled with an unnatural chill.

Fear coiled in Celeste’s chest. “Who—?”

The figure moved swiftly. Inhumanly.

A hand—if it could be called that—lashed out, reaching for her. Shadows curled from its fingertips like living tendrils.

Celeste gasped, stumbling back—

But before the creature could touch her, a gust of wind howled through the street, and suddenly—

Lucien was there.

He appeared like a phantom from the night, his long coat billowing as he stepped between Celeste and the figure.

“Touch her, and you’ll regret it,” he said, his voice ice.

The creature hesitated, hissing. “You shouldn’t interfere, Reaper.”

Celeste’s breath hitched. Reaper?

Lucien didn’t move. “She’s not yours to take.”

The figure let out a low, guttural laugh. “You still don’t remember, do you?”

Lucien’s jaw tensed. “Remember what?”

The figure leaned closer, its hollow gaze fixed on him. “The reason you keep coming back.”

Something cold and sharp lanced through Lucien’s skull—a flash of something ancient, something forgotten—

A woman’s cry. Blood on his hands. A promise whispered in the dark.

Then—silence.

Lucien staggered back, his head throbbing.

The figure laughed again. “You’ll see soon enough.” Then, in a swirl of darkness, it was gone.

Lucien exhaled sharply, trying to steady himself.

Behind him, Celeste stared, wide-eyed. “What—” She swallowed. “What just happened?”

Lucien turned to her, his gaze unreadable.

He could lie. Pretend she had imagined it. But deep down, he knew—

She was already tangled in this.

And whether she remembered or not, she was part of the reason he was.

“You’re not safe,” he finally said. “Not anymore.”

Celeste’s breath caught. “Because of you?”

Lucien hesitated. Then, softly—

“Yes.”

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